Dev Alahan

Devendra "Dev" Alahan' is a leading businessman in Coronation Street owning Prima Doner, For Your Fries Only and the Corner Shop and managing the latter since 1999. Now a widower, Dev raises twins Aadi and Asha as a single father.

Dev moved to Weatherfield from Birmingham when he bought his uncle Ravi Desai's seven shops, including the one in Coronation Street. His empire-building peaked in the 2000s with a 50% share in Street Cars from 2003 to 2005 and the opening of kebab shop Prima Doner in 2009.

One of the wealthier residents of the Street, Dev had his pick of the women but often took his girlfriends for granted. In 2002, Geena Gregory called off their engagement after finding out about his one-night-stand with Deirdre Barlow. He later dumped Maya Sharma when he realised that his friend Sunita Parekh was his one true love. On their wedding day in 2004, Dev and Sunita were arrested on charges of bigamy and illegal immigration, having been set up by Maya. After the charges were dropped, Maya enacted her final revenge by tying the Alahans up in the Corner Shop flat and blowing up all of Dev's shops, leaving them to die. With the help of the neighbours, Dev and Sunita were rescued and managed to bounce back from their ordeal.

In 2005, a pregnant Sunita discovered that Dev had fathered children with his employees at various shops. The revelations caused Sunita to divorce Dev and cut him out of the lives of their newborn twins Aadi and Asha. One of his illegitimate children was Amber Kalirai, who he took in when her mother Ravinder moved to Finland in 2006. Forever embarrassed by dad's philandering, Amber left to go to University three years later.

Dev and Sunita re-conciled in 2010 and she agreed to marry him in 2012, after several proposals. However, they were not as close the second time around and Sunita had an affair with Karl Munro. This co-incided with a period of financial trouble with Dev selling all of his shops except the Corner Shop and Prima Doner in 2011. In 2013, Sunita was murdered by Karl, with Dev helping to bring Karl to justice. His relationships since then have included Julie Carp and Erica Holroyd, though he is currently single and lives at 7 Coronation Street with Aadi, Asha and the children's nanny Mary Cole.

Early years
Dev first appeared in Weatherfield in November 1999. He was the owner of a chain of seven shops in the Manchester area and bought the Corner Shop on the Street from his uncle Ravi Desai after he returned to India.

Amy Goskirke, a former girlfriend, followed Dev to Weatherfield, claiming he had promised to marry her. He denied this, claiming she was a mad woman, so she claimed she was expecting his child and pretended to attempt suicide. Upon returning to the Rovers Return Inn with bandaged wrists, Dev exposed her lies by ripping off the bandages, revealing no cuts.

Some time later, Dev almost married barmaid Geena Gregory, but her mother was unhappy about this situation. She paid Karen McDonald to set him up and they were caught together in the flat. Although she forgave him on that occasion, Geena and Dev later split and she got together with Joe Carter.

Romance with Sunita
Dev saved shopworker Sunita Parekh from an arranged marriage in India and gave her a safe haven in the flat above the shop. Sunita developed feelings for Dev but he just saw her as a friend, though they later became involved.

His other girlfriends included Debs Brownlow and Tracy Barlow, who wrecked his flat after discovering he had no intention of marrying her. He also slept with Deirdre Barlow, who he employed at the shop.

Dev later met solicitor Maya Sharma, when on the rebound from Sunita, who chose barman Ciaran McCarthy over him. He set up home with Maya, but when Sunita became seriously ill, Maya got jealous of the amount of time he spent with Sunita and forced Dev to choose between them. Dev chose Sunita, enraging Maya, and she smashed up the flat and set Sunita up with an illegal immigration scam, and she was arrested at her wedding to Dev. Sunita was jailed but released when a taxi driver came forward with information that implicated Maya.

Maya was released on bail, and with murder in mind she tied up Sunita and one by one set fire to each of Dev's shops. When Dev arrived, she knocked him unconscious, and left them to die in the fire, but Ciaran and Charlie Stubbs saved them.

Twins
Sunita gave birth to twins Aadi and Asha in 2006. After her death in 2013, they received much care from Mary Taylor.

Sunita's death
Sunita died as the result of the pub fire started by Karl Munro after he pushed her down the stairs when she was trying to stop him. Dev grieved for a long time and declined to go to the police with the strong hints he had about Karl's guilt. Later, he formed relationships with Mary Taylor and other women; notably Erica Holroyd.

First and last lines
"Nita... long time no see, how's things? Uncle Ravi?" (First line)

Appendices
(To be completed)